First day on the slopes. Wow!

First things first: the slopes seem deserted. On my warm up runs this morning there I didnt see anyone else on the runs I was doing. It was glorious: the pistes had been perfectly groomed and the going was just perfect. I was beaming at the bottom.

We then met up with our instructors and were split up into groups of about 8 each. There were no actual lessons today, just a tour of the area and a chance to find our feet. We enjoyed some great cruising. I thought the conditions were fantastic but apparent the locals are unimpressed: there's been no fresh snow for a week so they think its a bit grim. We all kept comparing things to skiing in Europe and I have to say Europe didn't come out too well. So we had a great day being shown around by our instructor Colleen. The snow at the top of the mountain was really soft but you can really see what an amazing place this is once a big snowfall comes in. My group is all about 18-19 years old but I managed to keep up! On the last run of the day my thighs started to throb so I was happy to retreat to the bar.

My new skis are running very nicely and my 15 year old boots are providing much entertainment for everyone else. I've also bought a bright orange ski jacket and my housemates say they can spot me on the hill a mile off. So I'm looking good and feeling great - not a bad start!